Business Ecosystems and Open Innovation

URL study guide

https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2024-2025/E_BA_BEOI

Course Objective

Academic and Research Skills:Possess an in-depth understanding of the fundamental knowledge elements and underlying logic of BE & OI. Knowledge of Theory + Methods and Solving Complex Problems:Equipped with both the classical and the most recent theories and practices of BE & OI.Able to critically reflect on the key literature streams by management gurus in the field.Able to apply BE & OI perspectives to real-life situations and develop meaningful interpretations of the findings. Professional Social Skills:Able to communicate their views with respect to these BE & OI perspectives and approaches, both verbally and through written reports (individual and team-based). Horizon Beyond Professional Area:Able to develop critical thinking, creative thinking, independent thinking, and original thinking in this course, being innovative and become champions of technological/ organisational/ environmental/ social innovation in organisations and society. Self-Reflective Professional: Continuously learn and unlearn, reflect on social behaviour as well as knowledge absorption both at the individual level and at the group level.

Course Content

Most innovations fail, but companies that do not innovate, die. Therefore, in the current rapidly changing, inter-connected global economy, many firms innovate in a business ecosystem to achieve sustainable performance. Yet, such modern ways of innovation challenge theories and practices of traditional strategic management. The successes of firms like as Uber, Airbnb, Facebook, Tesla, Amazon, and Alibaba are impressive but little understood. Whereas many long-established, resource-abundant, and technologically advanced firms gradually lose profit margins in their traditional markets, these new types of firms— many of them with very limited initial resources, and several without any physical product— have achieved extraordinary performance. How and why did these once seemingly neglectable, small firms succeed? And how to strategically manage their innovation process to achieve sustainable performance? At the same time, many well-established, reputable, and large corporations have opened their firms to embrace new developments. Shell’s “GameChanger” showcases the value of corporate venturing, Heineken’s “Ideas Brewery” advocates crowdsourcing, Unilever’s “open innovation portal” emphasizes external partnerships, and the Philips-led “High-Tech Campus” is built entirely on the Open Innovation principle by encouraging knowledge inflows and outflows across the porous boundaries of individual organizations. In sum, we are witnessing a dramatic shift from a focus on the value created by a single company and product to the evolution of the whole value system created by networks of companies or product ecosystems. In these ecosystems, the internal assets and capabilities of each individual organization are blended with external entities. The Business Ecosystem & Open Innovation course brings together the recent developments on industry platforms, stakeholder management, organizational ecology, (open) innovation management, and strategy, and shows how these literature streams relate to managing innovation within and outside the firm as well as to dealing with technological and market disruptions and change over time. Building on this, we will zoom in on specific phases of the evolution of business ecosystems and their management and engage in in-depth discussions regarding the modern organizational modes based on open innovation principles.

Teaching Methods

Lectures, Seminars, Simulation Game

Method of Assessment

IndividualIndividual report (60%)Team-basedGroup report (40%)
- Simulation Game

Literature

The literature of this course consists of a selection of academic papers and news articles, announced on Canvas and in the course manual.

Target Audience

This course can be followed by a broad audience, but preferably master students with an interest in strategic management and innovation

Entry Requirements

Enrolled Master student

Recommended background knowledge

For students who want to get the most out of this course (or who do not have a management or strategy background), you can prepare yourself by reading the following books:Chesbrough, H. W. 2003. Open innovation: The new imperative for creating and profiting from technology. Harvard Business Press: Boston.Iansiti, M., & Levien, R. 2004. The keystone advantage: What the new dynamics of business ecosystems mean for strategy, innovation, and sustainability. Harvard Business Press: Boston.